


Why don't you fix me for a change?

by Oh_So_Alive



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied Sexual Content, Multi, No smut in this household, Oblivious Stephen Strange, Oblivious Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, oblivious idiots, stephen is kinda an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-02-27 20:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18746290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_So_Alive/pseuds/Oh_So_Alive
Summary: Tony Stark. What a guy.A guy that Stephen maybe had a crush on. Maybe, like just a little bit.Hardly even a 'crush', more of a slight, very tiny, miniscule, heart twang, that seemed to occur whenever the damn man was in the room.OR: Stephen uses the excuse of a broken phone to visit the one and only Tony Stark, and sucks at relationships.





	Why don't you fix me for a change?

**Author's Note:**

> Have I seen endgame? Yes. Am I now dead inside? Yes? Will that stop me? No way.
> 
> This is a fic where Stephen and Tony are both idiots, while Peter and Rhodey watch from the sidelines.
> 
>  
> 
> This is essentially the fic where I use italics wayyyy to much.
> 
> Enjoy! Constructive criticism is appreciated! :P

 

 

"Crap!" Stephen's phone was broken. Broken, of course, is an understatement, the entire screen was shattered.  Stephen figured he'd have to make for do for a while, as being a master of the mystic arts was fun and all but it did not pay too well. As he pocketed the smashed device, he realised another crucial fact-he was late to another of Tony Stark's stupid meetings, the ones that took place once a fortnight. Why they actually  _had_ to have these meetings was beyond him, although he personally suspected the great Mr Stark was actually just lonely.

Tony Stark. What a guy.

A guy that Stephen maybe had a crush on. Maybe, like just a little bit. 

Hardly even a 'crush', more of a slight, very tiny,  _miniscule,_ heart twang, that seemed to occur whenever the damn man was in the room. 

Even so, Stephen Strange still had a meeting to get to, one that admittedly started ten minutes prior.

He yelled for Wong, but after a minute passed and no reply came, he decided Wong had either left already or was dead somewhere. This was a good thing, as the guy never laughed, but seemed to be able to endlessly laugh at Stephen for his...heart twang. He opened a portal, the swirling pattern burning into the back of his eyelids, and stepped through into the avengers compound. Already he could hear noise of people talking, and groaned at the idea of having to walk in late. He looked over his shoulder as he walked, and finally neared the glass of the meeting room. Was it too late to back out? He caught Wong's watchful eye just as he was about to turn (Seriously, did the guy only come to humiliate him?), and reluctantly instead pushed open the cold door.

"Look who finally made it!" Despite the joyful tone, Tony Stark's voice was thick with sarcasm, so Stephen just mumbled his apologies and slumped down in the closest chair.

 "What, no smart response?" It seemed Tony was in one those moods where he felt the need to rile everybody up. Usually he succeeded, resulting in yelling matches throughout the whole team, but Stephen managed to keep his cool. Instead of replying, he just shrugged.

 

The rest of the meeting seemed to pass by in a bored haze, and Stephen contemplated pretending to have a sanctum emergency, but that would involve Wong, and it was almost guaranteed that Wong couldn't be trusted to lie for him. When the esteemed billionaire was  _finally_ done and the others were in the midst of leaving, Stephen unthinkingly took out his phone tapped in the date for the next meeting-or at least he tried to, his shaking fingers seemed to be having more trouble than usual, especially with the smashed glass to consider. He sighed, and make his way to the door when a curious voice stopped him.

"What the hell happened to your phone?" Tony Stark, with his stupid arched eyebrow was staring at him expectantly.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, it's fine, really." he bluffed, aware that Tony didn't believe a word of his excuses. He turned to leave anyway, but with two strides across the room Tony had reached out and grabbed his arm. 

"I'll fix it if you want?" he said, eyes flashing. God, those eyes, Stephen didn't get how the guy got so lucky in the eye department. Seriously, they were like dark honey dripping in the sunlight, always so flooded with life and excitement. 

How was he supposed to say no to eyes like that?

He took a breath and looked directly into the mentioned eyes, "O-okay, if that's-"

"Yes! I mean, yeah sure. Just, uh, follow me." He pushed past Stephen and strolled down the brightly-lit hallway.

"Okay?"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're actually quite lucky, most of the damage was only on the screen protector-good job on splurging for a glass one by the way, way better than the crappy plastic peel-off ones. Anyway, I think you should... Stephen?"

For the past twenty minutes Stephen had been intensely watching the way the gentle breeze from the fan was blowing Tony's hair across his forehead, and draping each strand down the center of his head. He really wanted to reach out and pull his hands through the brown locks- 

He shook himself. 

"Hm? Ah, yes. Sure." 

Tony grinned, "You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?"

"I-"

"Nah, it's cool, people don't usually get what I'm talking about."

Stephen blinked, "Excuse you? I'm literally a doctor!"

"Yea, a Neurosurgeon, how's that gonna help you understand electronics?"

"Well that's a bit-I mean- why don't you try performing an operation on somebody?!" He spluttered, face aghast.

Tony laughed, a full pealing chuckle. "Dude chill, I'm just messing with you."

Stephen smiled halfheartedly, feeling slightly embarrassed. He was about to speak, when Tony held out a black shiny rectangle. 

"Here you go!" He was grinning, and looked quite proud, which Stephen thought was kinda weird, as this was also the guy who built Iron man. 

"What the hell? This is the same phone?"

"I know right? It was actually quite easy, once I removed the screen protector- wait you do know what  _those_ are, right?" The billionaire joked.

"Oh shut up, it's not like I have to know that kinda of stuff for my job anyway." Stephen said to a smirking Tony, "but thanks for this, seriously."

"You know, if I were you I'd get a Stark phone, I've heard they're super good and reliable.." he trailed off, seeing Stephen's unimpressed face, "alright, alright, I'm just saying, they're better than that cave age rock you call a phone."

Stephen just smiled faintly, and said, "I'll consider it." whilst pretending to not get a small thrill from the way Tony beams back at him.

 

*********************************************************************

 

Stephen swirled his way home-literally, he danced through the portal-and bumped straight into a now-angrily muttering Wong.

"Do you mind? Unlike you I'm trying to complete my tasks within the duty of protecting the library, if you could actually do what you're supposed to instead of hanging around flirting with Stark, we'd be a lot safer."

"I  _do_ do my tasks-wait I wasn't flirting!" Stephen almost shrieked. Maybe he was being a bit overly-friendly, but just because he has a cru- _heart twang_ , on Tony Stark doesn't mean he can't also be friendly. Wong pulled a disbelieving face at him, and Stephen flushed. Was he really that obvious?

Another thought struck him.

"Oh god, you don't think he noticed?" Maybe that's why he fixed Stephen's phone, he noticed how the sorcerer looked at him and felt bad.

Wong sighed, "probably, now can you leave me alone? I'm busy." And with that, he swept down the corridor and out of sight.

 

 

 

"...rude"

 

*********************************************************************

 

Over a period of roughly two months Stephen Strange managed to visit Tony about thirty seven times, each time he was able to come up with a "believable" excuse.

"It fell out my pocket during a fight" (he let it fall)

"Wong got mad at me and threw it out the window" (Stephen himself threw it)

"I dropped it in the bath" (on purpose)

"Wong's car drove over it" (Wong doesn't have a car)

 

During one of these visits Stephen was making his way down to the lab, and came face to face with somebody he recognised.

Doctor Bruce Banner.

Somebody Tony Stark had mentioned-a lot, and rather fondly. 

Stephen knew that he obviously had no claim over Tony, however he couldn't help the jealousy that spiked inside of him whenever the guy was talked about. He frequently tried to pretend he didn't care, why should it bother him who Tony Stark is possibly dating? It doesn't. Not at all.

Except that was a complete lie and the whole hopelessly pining thing is apparently more painful than it's made out to be.

 

"Doctor Strange, right?" A soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. 

"Wha- yes, yes that's me." Smooth.

"It's a real honour to meet you, I knew of you in your old neurosurgery days, and of course Tony's been singing your praises." Stephen couldn't help it, the doctor's words made him blush a dark pink-he just hoped Banner didn't notice. Had Tony really talked a lot about him?

"Anyway, I'm guessing you're here to see him? He's down in the lab."

"Like usual then... not that I often come here, in fact it feels like ages since I last saw him. What does his lab look like again? I-I can hardly remember." he stuttered, trying to keep his face neutral.

Bruce had a knowing smirk on his face. "He likes you too, you know."

Stephen was sure even his ears were red.

"Huh? I don't understand what you're-"

"Yes you do. And I'm telling you, he likes you back." Bruce's voice was patient, and yet somehow mischievous at the same time.

"Look it doesn't matter anyway, I wouldn't do that to you."

The smirk slipped off the Doctor's face, and it was his turn to look confused. 

"What do you mean?"

Stephen fumbled to string together a sentence. "You two are like a thing or something, I wouldn't dream of breaking up a couple just for a silly..." he grits his teeth,"...Crush"

Bruce stares for a moment, before bursting into laughter. 

"What did you say? Me...and Tony? Ha, as if. I wouldn't date that moron."

"...You're  _not_ dating him?"

"No way! You seriously thought we were a thing?" Seeing Stephen's nod, Bruce continued, "I couldn't date him, for a number of reasons, and the biggest being the fact that all he does  _not stop talking about you!_ "

"He talks about you too..." Stephen was grasping at straws; it wasn't that he didn't want Tony to like him, it was just that...he wanted to be sure.

"Not the way he talks about you." Bruce smiled.

Okay. _Okay._

 

***********

 

Another time Stephen came for a phone fix, he happened to stumble into a room containing basically all of the avengers. Like, literally all of them, including Tony. It's not like he'd never met them before, after all they still had bi-monthly meetings together, it was more the fact he looked at Tony and then couldn't form a coherent sentence. On top of that, Bruce had that ridiculous knowing look on his face, and so did the spider-dude apparently. Did Banner tell on him?

The second Tony saw him he jumped to his feet. "Aha! I was waiting for you to come back! I have something for you, so gimme your phone." As Tony walked past him Stephen deposited his phone in the guy's outstretched palm.

"I'll be right back-just stay here." Tony said, and proceeded to sprint down the long halls.

Stephen turned back to- oh right, the avengers. Because that's a casual sentence to say. As his eyes peered over the group he noticed one thing about them all: they were all wearing identical smirks to Bruce and spider-boy (spider-kid? Stephen didn't know his name).

Stephen also didn't know how long things had been silent-it was getting kinda awkward. He was trying to think of something to say when the guy-Rhodey-beat him to it.

"So, you have a crush on Tony?"

The sorcerer flipped his head to face Bruce and glared.

"What the fuck?"

The Doctor grinned, "Hey, I didn't tell them, it's not my fault you two are so blindingly obvious." 

Stephen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright! Kind of. A bit.  _Maybe._  It's not really a  _crush,_ more of a-"

"'heart twang', right?" The spider-dude finished. Stephen gaped at him,  and the boy had the nerve to look indifferent. "What?" the spider said, "Wong told me."

Fucking Wong.

Stephen huffed another indignant breath. "Of course he did. Well, I'm going to go find Tony and after that kill Wong. Good day." 

As he left the room he heard a whispered voice exclaiming "What the hell's a 'heart twang'?", and the equally quiet reply (from who he assumed was the arachnid) of "Denial, apparently."

Screw his stupid life.

********

When he walked into the blinding white lab of Tony Stark he noticed said man wasn't aware of his entrance. Instead, the billionaire was completely absorbed into what looked like hacking apart Stephen's phone. Okay then.

Unsure of how long he'd been stood staring at the guy working, he cleared his throat. Still nothing, so he took the plunge and hesitantly spoke.

"Tony?"

Tony jumped violently and nearly threw the phone across the room.

"Jesus! Give a guy some warning!" His eyes looked manic, flashing crazily.

"I've literally been stood here for ten minutes." Stephen said in a deadpan voice.

"No way you have, I take far less time than that to transfer data."

The sorcerer squinted. "Why were you transferring data?"

Tony stopped still and turned to him, looking like a small child caught stealing cookies. "Ah, right, I was going to mention this."

"Mention what?" Stephen questioned, voice cautious.

"Okay, so, I was thinking the other day, 'Stephen seems to be coming here a lot, why could that be?'"

Was his flush so obvious...did Tony know?!

"-and then I figured, it's because your phone is such a dinosaur! And I know you said no last time I offered you a Stark phone, but Rhodey just gave me his weekly," he began to mimic Rhodey's voice, "'Tony, not everyone has money' talk, so I feel compelled to tell you that this free of charge!" he then shook away Stephen protests, "-and it's a gift so you have to accept it!"

Was it weird that Stephen felt disappointed that Tony _didn't_ know about his heart-twang?

"W-well alright. Fine, I'll take it but only because you're forcing me too."

"That's more than I expected, so cool!"

That made Stephen laugh. "What did you expect me to do?"

Tony shrugged "I don't know, throw it at the wall and storm out?"

"what? No way dude! I would never do that to you, I care about your feelings too much!" Wait, that sounded different in his head.

The atmosphere in the room changed.

Oh god, if he wasn't blushing before, he definitely was now. Just before he made his excuses to awkwardly leave, Tony's soft, unsure voice stopped him.

"You care about...me?"

Crap, it definitely wasn't supposed to have sounded like that, but there was no going back now. 

"Yeah, I do. I mean, of course I do." 

Tony was looking at the ground. Did Stephen say something wrong?

When Tony looked up, Stephen noticed how they seemed slightly shiny.

"Sorry, I know I'm being kind of silly, it just-it just feels weird to hear somebody say that. A good weird."

The genius smiles warmly at him, and Stephen feels his heart swell. Tony turns around and continues to work on god knows what, so Stephen attempts to make conversation, already missing the warm way they had been speaking moments ago.

 

"I like your goatee?"

 

"Get out of my lab"

 

 

************************************************

 

 

The next encounter he had was with Spider-Man, the person he had been avoiding since their last meeting and hearing the Avengers accusations. Sure, the accusations were all true, but that didn't mean Stephen wanted everyone knowing. As he was again on his way to Tony's lab, in the midst of concocting a new excuse for his presence, he suddenly heard a loud thump come from the room he was passing, followed by a young-sounding voice yelling "Fuck!". 

Unsure of what exactly to do, Stephen dithered in the hallway for about a minute before shaking his head and knocking on the door from which the noise came from. As he entered he was confronted with the sight of Spider-Man standing on a chair, holding a saucepan, and rubbing his head whilst groaning. None of this really surprised Stephen, as Spider-Man always seemed like a pretty chaotic kind of guy.

"Uhh, I heard a noise and just wanted to check you were...you know alive still." he cringed mentally at how awkward he sounded.

Spider-Man (seriously, why had he never bothered to learn his name) looked up, grinning, even though a massive bruise was forming already on his head.

"Yeah dude, I'm chill, I just saw a spider and I was gonna get it but I hit head my head on the shelf and, well, you know the rest." How was this guy so casual about everything? Not to mention how young he was.

"Are you okay?" Stephen questioned, aware that this guy must've hit his head pretty hard for the noise to carry through the thick walls.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine, and I got super-healing, so this'll clear up in..." he checks the time on his phone, "...twenty minutes. I often do worse than hit my head anyways. Also, I think you should ask out my dad."

Stephen blinked, bewildered and the casual Spider-Dude slipped this into his sentence.

"Look kid, I've said this so many times now, but Tony isn't interested in dating someone like me. He wants someone more like him, somebody who comes closer to how smart he is."

"...you literally have a PHD. In science or whatever. You're a neurosurgeon!"

If only it were that simple.

"I _was_ a neurosurgeon. And it's a different kind of smart, the guy's a genius at everything, I was  _good_ at one thing."

Spider-Man chuckled, and it was the kind of laugh that made Stephen realise how young the spider was. 

"Do you really think Tony's that shallow? He's always talking about 'how funny Stephen is' or 'guess what Stephen just told me' or the classic 'Guys, Stephens  _so_ cute'"

Even considering the situation Stephen couldn't help the feelings that came rushing back to him, swirling through his head and clouding his vision.

Spider-Man continued.

"Just admit you like him, what harm's it gonna do?"

Laugh? Never talk to Stephen again? Ruin the small friendship they have? 

"I can't, okay?"

"No, you're just afraid he's gonna say no, but I keep telling you, he'll say yes."

 

 "You can't know that"

That was true, no matter what the kid said, it was all down to what Tony said, and Stephen wasn't resting his hopes on somebody else's word.

"Just talk to him, you don't even have to say anything-yet. Just see how he acts around you, it's so obvious."

Why can't anyone see it from his side? Everyone was telling him to date Tony, but they didn't factor in how much harder that was than it seemed.

"Maybe he's the same as you-he likes you, but he isn't telling you. If you could just-"

Fuck. This.

"Fine! I like him! But it doesn't matter, alright? I'm  _not_ saying anything, because this is the first real friendship I've had beside Wong, and I'm fairly certain he only stays with me because he has to. I was a total and utter jackass my whole life and career, and I pushed away everyone close to me because of my own fears and arrogant ambitions. I'm not going to ruin this because some vigilante-high-school-super-hero tells me to!" Stephen's voice cracked at the end of his sentence, his vocal cords betraying how much this all hurt him. He turned around and flopped in the nearby chair, sighing, and purposely ignoring the smaller-than-average boy standing opposite.

"Wow. See I just though you were in denial...you've clearly given this thought..." the quiet tone was stark in contrast to the yelling Stephen was doing not a full minute ago. Stephen hmph-ed in response to this statement.

"But I still think you're wrong you know. Even if I'm wrong and he doesn't like-which he does- telling him won't ruin anything. He'll trust you more,maybe, for telling him this and keeping secrets. Man, that guy hates being left in the dark, and he'll soon figure out you're not telling him something, and he'll just get upset. Then  _I'll_ have to deal with a sad Tony Stark and I  _Hate_ sad Tony Stark, he's so...drippy."

This definitely wasn't the response Stephen expected from the teenager he had just yelled at.

This also made sense. A lot of sense. 

"okay." Stephen's voice was small now, embarrassed over how intense he was.

"What?" Spider-man said, confusion evident in his voice.

"okay. Maybe you're right. Maybe." Stephen wasn't even done speaking when large smile spread across the kid's face.

"Yes! I knew I'd break you! Nat owes me Twenty whole dollars!"

This didn't even surprise Stephen-of course people bet on this.

As the kid was leaving the room Stephen stopped him by saying:

"Thanks, kid, really you've helped me more than you know..." Dammit, why didn't he listen why Tony introduced him to the Avengers?

"It's Peter Parker sir. I've been waiting for you to ask, I  _knew_ you didn't know my name. Ha! Now Ned owes me ten dollars too!"

Stephen laughed. "How many bets have you made with people?"

"Far too many for my life to be the same again. Now, go. You have somebody to talk to, and I have thirty dollars to collect."

 

The kid was skipping to the door when Stephen realised who Peter reminded him so much of, Tony. It was like looking at a carbon copy that somebody had smushed a little bit.

 

 

**************

 

 

He was practically running down to Tony's lab, feet tripping on every step and hair bouncing haphazardly on his forehead. This was probably a bad idea, but he was still hyped up from his conversation with Peter.

He finally reached his destination in record time, and stood outside for a minute to catch his breath. At the same time, he sneakily stole a glance at his reflection in the window, anxiously brushing his stray fringe into order. After this, he peered through the glass, and caught a glimpse of Tony completely absorbed in whatever weird, complicated work he was doing now.

He pushed open the door.

Tony Still didn't look up.

Of course. The one time he wants to make a dramatic entrance the guy's not even watching.

"Tony. Tony. Tony!" was he being too annoying? Stephen was so desperate for Tony to hear what he had to say that he wasn't focused on how irritating he was.

Finally, the smart ass idiot looked up.

A beat passed.

Could Tony feel it too? The way that there was an energy in the air between them, a feeling that danced through Stephen's veins and jumped on his poor heartstrings. It didn't make him happy, not exactly, and it obviously didn't make him sad, it just made him...tingly. It made him feel disconnected and adrift, like every single atom that made up his physical being was being pushed away from him bit by bit. It was discombobulating to say the least.

"-knew you'd be back! I've been hanging off the edge of my seat." The second half of Tony's sentence was sarcasm, however the joking tone that lay underneath it indicated he was happier than he made out.

"Ha, sure. I wanted to talk to you about, um, this thing that's-that's been on my mind lately, it's um, I have a uh..." Stephen took a deep breath and licked his lips nervously. He was about to carry on when Tony cut in.

"Okay! Gimme your phone and I'll look at it for you. That  _is_ what you're here for, right? I mean, that's why you come."

 

Stephen blinked. Fuck.

 

"Uh... yeah, yeah that's it. That's why I'm here." 

He stood still for a moment, before noticing that Tony was staring at him, a weird look in his eyes. Could he maybe feel-

"So are you gonna give me your phone?"

Oh, yeah right. Stupid him, thinking that somebody actually liked him. He handed Tony his phone, and the way his hand felt as though it had been zapped with electricity was so bittersweet. Here was the one guy he wanted, after years of messing everything up in his love life, and yet he still didn't have the courage to just say, 'hey, by the way, I like you'. It was utterly and truly pathetic.

"So, what's wrong with it this time?" Tony's voice was ever-sweet and patient, not the way it had been a few months ago. That was one of the best things about him: he seemed like such an unloving dick until Stephen got to know the person hidden behind that mask.

With a jolt Stephen remembered that he had entirely forgotten to come up with an excuse, and tried to speedily think of something. Damn, that meeting with Peter had seriously thrown him off.

"Uh, I can't-It's just that-Well the thing is...I can't turn it on. Yeah, that's it. It won't turn on." Stephen blurted, morphing his face into what he hoped was a genuine expression. 

Tony eyed him suspiciously. 

"Really? Because, uh, you're a smart guy...Surely you figured that you just..." Tony pressed the button on the side of the phone"...push this button?"

There was no way he was actually gonna get away with this.

"Oh! Oh right, yeah, I did, um, wonder what that did..." He trailed off as Tony moved closer to him, and felt his heart jump into his throat when he put a hand on Stephen's arm.

"Y'know-and I mean this respectfully, of course-I don't believe you. You had to of identified what that button did, like I said, you a smart guy. So, what are you doing here?"

Stephen said nothing, just gulped when Tony took another step closer, hand still lightly enveloping his arm.

They were practically nose to nose, and Stephen quivered at how near Tony was. He wanted to push himself forward, and only just managed to restrain himself.

"I think you're here for a different reason. I think you're always here for a different reason. I think you're here to see me. What other explanation have you got? You're here so much, and with  _such_ unbelievable excuses..." Tony drawled-Stephen almost couldn't believe had figured it out, "...I really do believe that you just wanna see me. Is that all you want, or is there more?"

Stupid, stupid, stupid. How had he let it come to this? 

"Just tell me what you want."

Stephen still didn't trust that anything Tony was conveying was true. Sure, he _sounded_ flirty, and maybe Tony  _sounded_ like he wanted Stephen too, but what if that was all an illusion? What if his brain was just playing another trick on him? _He couldn't lose one of his only friends._

Without Tony he was just a washed up old doctor who was trying to help fight bad guys and who only had one friend. That's if Wong even counted as a friend.

 

 

Maybe that's why he said what he said.

 

 

"No. No! No way. Look I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression, but I'm straight. I'm not into you. Psh, I barely like you. I only ever come for you to fix my stuff." 

He felt bad, the guilt dripping off each word and settling on his heart, squeezing it as though each bundle of letters was banding together to build an iron claw that wrenched a hold on that organ in his chest.

He couldn't even face looking up to meet Tony's eyes.

"I thought we were fr-friends?" It was heartbreaking to hear Tony stumble over his sentence, the usually suave guy reduced to being quiet and insecure.

"N-not really, I mean I just- I just wanted somebody to fix my stuff for free." He hoped Tony couldn't see the façade he'd put up, or the tear threatening to spill from his eyes.

God, could he be any worse of a person?

"Okay then." Tony was quiet, also not daring to catch eyes with Stephen.

Stephen dropped his wall, the shield that made him cruel.

"Are you okay?" The worry was evident in his face.

"Yep." Tony's voice was devoid of all emotion.

"I didn't-"

"Please leave." The billionaire was calm, his face still unreadable. 

"I just want-"

"Get out! Just get out!" Tony sunk into a ball on the floor, and Stephen was certain he could hear muffled sobs. He desperately wanted to go over, to say that no, it wasn't true, they were friends.and Stephen did like him, but within Tony's curled up shape he could hear faint cries still telling him to leave.

So, he turned around, and walked as calmly as he could to the door. This of course was not at all calm, and the better description would be that, in reality, he wobbled to the door, tears spilling down his face.

As he pulled open the polished wooden door he immediately glimpsed Rhodey, who must've been nearby enough to hear the yelling. He looked past Stephen's stricken face to see Tony, still hunched on the floor. Rhodey's face went hard.

"What the hell have you done?"

 

Stephen couldn't even bring himself to answer. He just shook his head and let his body take over the walking. 

 

 

 

********

 

 

 

Days passed slowly, each one feeling longer than the last. Each one was filled with overwhelming remorse. Wong took the brunt of Stephen's inactivity, tutting as he scurried around doing both of their chores. He was being surprisingly gentle, which wasn't comforting to Stephen, usually when Wong was nice he either wanted something or was about to do something to you.

After a week passed-it was admittedly a long week-Hurricane Wong hit. Stephen had just settled into his chair, about to begin his day of immense guilt, when Wong appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

"You have to leave."

Stephen winced at the volume of Wong's statement.

"What?"

"You have to leave."

"Yes, I heard you the first time, I meant what do you mean?" He knew Wong's good temper was too good to last.

"You haven't left this building in a week. The Avengers have another meeting. Today. I'll be going, so for goodness sake please come too and get out of that godforsaken chair." With that, he swung round and strode out the door.

Stephen was speechless.

"I can't just show up! Wong? Wong!"

He couldn't go. It was absolutely out of the question.

Wasn't it?

He had to apologise to Tony at some point, of course he did, he just wanted to make sure he didn't hurt him even more at the same time.

Maybe he should go. In fact, yes, he would go. He needed to know what was happening, and he needed to say sorry-it was a double whammy.

He had to talk to Tony.

 

****

 

Did he have to talk to Tony  _that_ badly? The second he entered the meeting room he concluded that he was lucky- Only two people in the room were staunchly glaring at. Indubitably, the two sets of eyes belonged to Rhodey and Peter, both, Stephen assumed, knew of the situation and had (fairly) taken Tony's side. This was actually fortunate, for the reason that it was only these two. If all the Avengers knew Stephen doubted he'd make it out the meeting alive.

He stepped into the room and Rhodey stood up to face him, still glaring.

"Stephen." he definitely was angry.

"Rhodey." Stephen prayed he could hear the sincerity in his speech.

Just as Rhodey was about to speak he stopped and looked past Stephen's shoulder. At the sudden pause, Stephen twisted round to see what it was.

Tony. It was Tony.

He was stood in the doorway, looking disheveled and unkempt, but beautiful as ever. His eyes dribbled with ingenuity, the warm cinnamon ovals like a doorway to his brain, yet Stephen couldn't ever tell what he was thinking. Tony was wearing a simple blue sweater and jeans, the clashing colours dancing against his skin, and his hair was wildly splayed about his head. But by far the most noticeable thing was that he looked absolutely heartbroken. His exquisite eyes were flooded with unshed tears, and his clothes looked to be few days old at least. 

As soon as he saw Stephen, Tony turned and fled from view, closely followed by the blurred figure of Rhodey. After waiting approximately ten seconds, Stephen sprinted behind them, leaving the other Avengers in bewilderment.

He stood stock-still in the hallway, frozen, as the one and only Tony Stark stood before him. And he did not look like the crying mess Stephen had been near to seeing moments ago. No, he looking angry. Fuming. Positively seething with rage. Huh.

"What the  _fuck_ do you think you're doing here?" Rhodey sprayed viciously, in advance of Tony placing a hand on his arm and pulling Rhodey back.

"Calm down, okay? Seriously, why the fuck are you here? No," he said, waving Stephen's explanations that had come mumbling from the sorcerer's lips away, "No, that was a rhetorical question. I don't care about your stupid reasons. It doesn't bother me. I crossed a line by assuming things, and acting on my assumptions without much questioning, and I'm sorry for that. But I didn't hurt you. What you said, it really  _hurt_ , okay? And I'm Iron man for fucks sake. _Then,_ after everything you've already done, you show up here, and to do what? Antagonise me? Make me feel more shit than I currently do? Like I said, I don't wanna hear it."

Stephen was gobsmacked. None of what Tony had said was undeserved, but was the guy really going to believe him when he said he really was just there to say sorry.

"I didn't come here to hurt you-more-I just wanted to tell you that-"  Tony cut him off.

"No, no you don't get to explain. I didn't get to, and therefore neither do you. Once again, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." Once more, when Stephen tried to continue speaking, Tony just held up a hand to stop him.

"Leave. You should know me by now, I'm not above using brute force. I have a meeting about the current state of the world, and then a bunch of work to bury myself in. I'm sure you have thing to do too." Tony was cold, and as soon as he finished speaking he turned and calculatedly walked back to the meeting room. Stephen could almost inconceivably hear the soft tones of others as they worriedly expressed their concerns. 

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder. It was Rhodey.

"It's probably best that you don't show up to these meetings for a little while...I'll make sure Wong tells you what going on."

There was a pregnant pause and both men seemed to be struggling for something to say.

"Why couldn't you have just told him you liked him? I know you do, quit trying to lie about it."

"He means too much to me, I wanted to keep him in my life. I couldn't lose one of my only friends."

There was another drop in the conversation, before Rhodey chuckled.

"You're a idiot. Can't you see? You've done just that."

As the other guy was walking away, Stephen ran over the irony of the situation. He didn't tell the guy he liked he liked him because he didn't want to lose his friendship, but by doing this he consequently did so anyway.

The world worked in weirdly fucked up ways, Stephen realised. Maybe he'd just have to find a way to outsmart it.

 

 

******************************************************

 

 

More and more time passed, and Stephen mulled over each conversation he had. He additionally discovered that he had really bad coping mechanisms-apparently, being 'reckless' and staying up until 3am practicing fighting with his cloak  _'isn't healthy Stephen!'._ Whatever. He only got stabbed  _once,_ and it wasn't even that bad.

Aside from this, he spent his time thinking of what to do about Tony. He wanted to do some sort of big romantic gesture-that's what they do in all the movies, as he explains to a bored Wong- but he can't think of what gesture he should do.

During his thinking, he's interrupted by a visitor, and the greeting may or may not have been the most terrifying thing  _ever._

Stephen was sat at his desk, as he had been for about five hours, when he heard a theatrical cough from behind him. He flipped around, his cloak already seated around his shoulders, and peered around the room, heart thudding in his chest. As his eyes flickered about, he ran over the possibilities of who-or what-was in his room. Wong was the only person he could think of, nobody else had access to this part of the sanctum, although, he supposed, somebody  _could_ have found away to get around this. After thirty seconds of intense staring, Stephen's eyes fell upon a figure, clad in red and blue, perched on the ceiling. On their chest was seated a small, black, Spider.

Of course. Who else would it be?

SpiderMan-Peter- jumped down from his post and almost managed a perfect landing, but instead wobbled and ended up squatting on the floor like a sulky frog.

Straightening up and brushing dust off his clothes, Peter Parker began speaking:

"Have you lost your mind?"

Stephen let out a wry snicker, mainly at the ungainly boy before him.

"Believe me kid, you're not the first to say that to me."

Peter frowned.

"Don't joke, I'm still mad at you. Do you know how  _annoying_ and  _drippy_ a sad Mr Stark is? 'Cause I do and lemme tell you, it's a lot. I thought after we had our bonding sesh' you'd actually go and, y'know, tell him how you felt, ask him out. Why is the holy name of St Fucker did you say what you said?"

"Okay, First of all, did you just swear?" 

"You've heard me swear before!"

"Back then I didn't know for certain what I know now, which is that you're an annoying teenage boy who should  _not_ be swearing!"

"So not fair-hey, I see what you did! You changed the subject! Seriously, just answer the question dude."

"Alright. Look, I can't explain it okay? It's stupid, and you'll laugh." Stephen grumbled.

"I won't laugh."

"Yes you will." Of course he would, it's Peter.

"We won't know until you tell me."

"I'm not telling you."

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Please? I won't quit bugging you until you tell me!"

"Is this how you get everything you want?"

"Duh, why do you think Mr Stark let me work in his lab? Look, just tell me, I swear I won't laugh." Peter crossed his fingers and pulled a face, making his eyes huge and lips pouted. Stephen sighed.

"Fine, but only to get you to piss off-I can swear I'm a legal adult. The truth is, I didn't want to lose one of my only friends." Stephen says slowly.

There's a pause.

Peter bursts out laughing.

"Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh!"

"Yeah but dude! That's so stupid! Because-because he isn't your friend now anyway!"

"I know! I know!"

Eventually, Peter's laughter subsided and he looked serious again.

"Okay, back to important stuff, what're you gonna do? Because I know you, and you're gonna do something."

Well he was right about that.

"I don't know, I mean I want it to be big, but I don't have the money to buy a plane with one of those fabric thingies hanging off the back saying 'Tony I'm sorry', so I was thinking-"

"Whoa whoa, what? He doesn't want any of that!" Peter sniggered, "God you're useless at this."

"What? I don't get what you're saying." Stephen was confused. "In all the films that's what they do, they do a big thing to prove how sorry they are."

"There's your first problem-I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this ain't a film. Don't you see? Mr Stark doesn't want any of that. He never did. He wants  _you,_ Stephen, why is that hard for you to get?"

"...So you're saying I've spent days wasting my time when all needed to do was be...honest?"

"Yes! Jesus, did nobody ever teach you anything? You could be the richest and showiest man alive, you could built a monument for him, but without just telling him how you feel he won't give a sh-damn."

Peter was right. Rhodey was right. he really was an idiot.

He grabbed Peter's shoulders and hugged the boy firmly. He had to talk to Tony- and this time he wouldn't mess it up. He knew what to do for the first time in his (love) life!

"Thank you Peter!"

The small buy shrugged and smirked at him. "You know, I'm kinda offended that you don't consider  _me_ a friend, I thought we bonded."

"Haha."

"I'm serious, you were gonna be my best man at my wedding. Hey, speaking of, when you marry Tony, who's your best man gonna be? Just curious."

"Go home, it's past your bedtime."

"I'm gonna leave and also ignore that statement, but how about you just email me ideas on themes? I was up on pinterest last night, and there's this really cute one where-"  Was it cruel to shove a teenager out a window? He could stick to walls and _probably_ had his webshooters on.

 

First thing tomorrow he was going to the compound, and he was speaking to Tony. Plus, this time, he was getting it right.

 

 

**********************

 

 

Right, so when he said 'first thing tomorrow' he totally meant it. Nearly. Yeah, okay that didn't work out. This explains why Stephen ended up at the Compound at two a.m, silently slipping down the corridors to Tony's lab. It somewhat helped that he'd made the same trip on multiple occasion-the walls and carpeted floor felt like muscle memory to him.

He knew almost for a fact that Tony would be in his lab, as after all you can't get a crush on Tony Stark without realising that the guy spends about 95% of his time in his lab.

For what felt like the billionth time in his life Stephen rolled up to the garish lights of Tony's lab, and once again found himself contemplating what the hell he was doing there. 

This time, this time he would hopefully tell Tony he liked him.

If not that, well he'd at least say sorry.

Stephen rolled his eyes at his own stupidity, and knocked.

Of course, Tony being Tony there was no answer, so Stephen knocked again. Harder.

A gentle clunk sounded.

"Bruce I told you to piss off!"

It was now or...later, probably, so it was easier to make it now.

"It's not Bruce."

A louder clunk was heard.

Stephen took that as his cue to venture into the room, and was faced with the back of Tony Stark.

"I thought I told you the other day" Tony said, without turning around,"I thought I made it clear for you to just leave me alone."

"I know. And therefore I'm sorry I suck so much at listening to you." Stephen spoke honestly.

At these words, Tony turned around, showing bloodshot eyes and erratic hair. He didn't say anything, just watched Stephen patiently and waited for him to speak.

"And you can probably guess why I'm here."

Tony nodded. "Yep. Peter showed up, didn't he? I'm guessing he was bored with me crying all over him so he came and made you feel guilty. Told you all about my sad sorry past, did he?"

Wait, what? Stephen pushed on nonetheless.

"He didn't tell me anything about you. All he told me was  to get my head out of my own ass and finally talk to you-which is what I'm here to do I guess. You see, these past few days I've spent my time trying to find a way to prove I'm sorry, like some big gesture. But then your  _charming_ little son managed to knock it into me about how stupid that was. I've been wasting my time, trying to prove stuff to you, when instead I should just be honest with you and tell you why I fucked up and said that crap to you, a-and also how sorry I am for it."

Stephen took another deep breath, and looked Tony dead in the eye.

"Tony, I'm sorry. So, so, horrendously sorry you won't even believe how long I could tell you that. None of what I said was true, and yet I hurt you by saying it anyway. I'm not trying to excuse what I said or did, but I just want to explain my reason. The fact is-" Stephen stopped, his breaths getting and short.

"Whoa, Stephen, chill for a second, you look like you're gonna pass out. When was the last time you slept...properly. You need sleep you know."

He smiled weakly. "Like you're one to talk."

Oddly enough, Tony grinned a crooked grin. "Fair point."

A silence fell between them, and for the first time it was comfortable. Stephen focused on getting his breathing back to normal. Once he did, Tony spoke again.

"It's okay, alright? What's happened, I mean. What you said sucked-a lot- but I had no proof of what I was saying. And the reason I got upset, well, let's just-let's just say I have a history of people using me for money and whatnot. And it hurt even more that it was you who was saying it." Tony blew air out of his mouth. "But, hey, if you say you didn't really mean it, then that's good enough for me."

"Are you sure? Because I swear to you, I feel so bad and I'm really-"

Tony cut in. "Yep. I'm sure. And guess what!"

"What?"

"We can hang out again! And this time, we'll hang out more than just when I fix your phone, Okay? I'm thinkin' movie nights!"

How Tony was so calm and jolly confused Stephen, and as the burbling genius turnd back around to keep working, he found himself grabbing Tony's arm.

"Wait! I-ah I- shit- I just-"

He wasn't seriously doing this again?! Stephen mentally slapped himself in the face, and it almost felt too real.

Breathing hard, he continued. "Tony, I need to tell you this, Okay?"

"Okay Stephen."

He still couldn't help the jolt that ran through him when the guy said his name.

"Tony, the reason I said what I said is because I was scared. I was scared of losing you, and don't even bother explaining that I know it's ironic. I freaked out, because, in all honesty...I-I like you. Like, Like-like you. A crush, if you don't mind how middle-school that sounds. That's why I kept coming here, with all my fake excuses, just like you said. A-and when you started to figure that out I got scared in case it ruined what we had and I lost my friends. I know it's stupid! I know, and I'm still so-mmph!"

Tony had been staring with an unreadable face, and grabbed Stephen's cheeks, smushing his face and and slamming their lips together. It was maybe a rough way to kiss someone, but to Stephen it felt glorious. His face flushed a brilliant red and he clutched Tony's collar, gripping on as if for dear life.

The kiss deepened.

Oh my.

Tony tongue poked at Stephen's lips, and the billionaire pushed forward, and bit Stephen's lower lip. Stephen groaned, breaths coming out in short pants, and he gasped at the delicious pain from this action. Tony took the opportunity to slip his tongue into Stephen's mouth, and he felt as though he were on fire. Their tongues battled, slippery and warm, the noises wicked in such a delightful way. Suddenly, Tony stepped closer to Stephen, and pushed their bodies together. Stephen could feel  _everything_.

 

***

 

He couldn't say how long they were...busy for, but it felt like an age had passed before they stepped apart breathing heavily. This was definitely more than Stephen had bargained on happening when he walked in. He fixed his eyes on Tony, taking in the man's puffed lips and wide eyes. He was certain he looked the same. He cleared he throat and spoke, aware of how croaky his voice was, and purposely ignoring the smirk on Tony's face as this fact became apparent.

"So, um, this is probably a good time to let you know that I'm not a  _hundred_ percent straight." Did he really have to say this? It was probably quite obvious by now.

Tony's smirk grew.

"Oh no, I figured that."

A beat passed, before both men started laughing. 

Tony looked at him, a softness in his features that Stephen had seen before but never really took note of. The genius seemed to be struggling for what to say-a rare occasion-so Stephen began to talk, just at the same time Tony did.

"Do you-"

"I want-"

They both blushed.

"You go first." Tony said, gesturing at Stephen.

"No, it's okay, after you." Stephen hurriedly mumbled.

"No really, I'll wait."

"Seriously, you were going to speak first anyway."

"I don't wanna cut in-"

"Okay this is gonna get ridiculous, just go. I'll tell you after" Stephen said, smiling reassuringly.

Tony exhaled, looking nervous.

"Do you maybe, uh, wanna go on a date with me? It's okay if you don't, but I wanted to know if you did. But I totally get if you don't, I'm a bit of a mess so it's completely fair if-"

Stephen interrupted Tony's ramblings with a chuckle.

"Yes. Very much yes." 

Tony blinked.

"Really? W-with me?"

"Yes you idiot. With you. Text me about it, okay?"

"O-okay. Yeah." Tony breathed out again, and beamed. "I'm excited now, I gotta plan! Wait, what were you gonna say?"

"Same as you actually." Stephen laughed. "So this works out pretty well."

"Okay!" Tony started pushing Stephen out of the lab.

"What are you-"

"Get out! I gotta plan, I told you! This is gonna be the best date you've ever been on, so leave and don't spoil the surprise!"

 

Stephen let himself be pushed out the door, feigning annoyance, and hiding the massive grin he had on his face.

 

******************

 

"So how'd it go?"

Stephen nearly jumped out of his skin, until he looked up to Peter once again perched on his ceiling. Naturally.

"Jesus kid, you need to stop doing that. And yes, before you gloat, you were right." He couldn't help the smile that slid onto his face.

"Aha, you're blushing, it clearly went very well." The teen vigilante crowed.

"Okay, you win! It went very well. He's-He's taking me on a date." The reality of this hit him-He was going on a date with Tony Stark! If you'd told him this a month or two ago he'd never have believed you.

"I told you! Honesty  _always_ works!"

"yeah alright, I thought I told you not to gloat?"

"You did, and I'm surprised you thought I'd listen. Oh! Reminds me, Rhodey messaged me."

Stephen visibly gulped. Was he genuinely afraid of Rhodey? Yes.

"...He told me to tell you that he's happy for the both of you and whatnot but if you hurt Tony again he will-and I'm quoting this-'rip out your insides and string them up, then throw your body off a cliff'."

"That's lovely."

Peter looked up. "Technically that's a death threat, you could probably have him arrested for that."

"Thanks kid, I'll keep that in mind."

Neither said anything, and Stephen rejoiced quietly. Who knew things would come to this? That he'd get a crush on a stupid, arrogant, billionaire with a goatee, and said billionaire would actually like him back? Stephen didn't, and the fact that it happened was still making him smile into his sleeve.

"You know something? I'm really happy for you. I'd like to think I knew from the beginning that this would work out." Peter said cheerfully.

"Oh yeah? How come?"

"Because you too are both such annoying smart idiots."

"And how does that mean we should date?"

"because,  _idiot_ , you both match."

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading champs!  
> I'm thinking of making this into a series and showing their date, and maybe re-write it from Tony's perspective? Let me know what you think!
> 
> Please feel free to leave kudos and comments, I crave appreciation.


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